Until I Die
by LitaFanForLife
Summary: It takes place just where Not Fade Away leaves off. Buffy finally finds out from Giles that Angel is going to be in the middle of another Apocalypse. She rushes off to L.A, in hopes that she isn't too late to help. Romance, angst, and action
1. Chapter 1

o-0-o- This year I became a huge Buffy fan. I thought it was about time I gave writing a different type of story a try. Hope you like it! o-0-o

"Giles. Don't even. You don't get out of this one without me being majorly pissed."

"But-"

"No buts. Just talk, tell me what I need to know. Is this major battle to the death in L.A. happening now. Or do I still have time to possibly help?"

"Buffy-"

"Giles, why didn't I know about this? Why didn't you tell me Angel and Spike were in the middle of another damn apocalypse?"

"I-"

"Never mind. Just tell me, will I be able to help if I leave right now?"

"Probably," Giles answered.

"Okay then, I'm out of here," Buffy said quickly.

"Angel was running Wolfram and Hart, Buffy. Doesn't that mean anything to you? That company is evil."

"But Angel's not, Giles. You know he's not. And Spike's there too, he's not evil either," she said, annoyed and hurrying out the door.

"Buffy-"

"Giles if you're gonna contuine with the speaking I suggest you start moving because I'm leaving right now. You can talk to me on the way to the plane."

"You know what Wolfram and Hart is. It has gotten to Angel and you know it. There's shady operations going on there and you're perfectly aware of it."

Buffy was practically running down the stairs. "Giles, I love you. But what the hell don't you understand about Angel not being evil? I'm telling you he's not, and that's that," Buffy said angrily.

"How do you know?" he challenged.

"Here's a better question? In the grand scheme of things, who the hell cares if he is evil or not? We're talking about an Apocalypse, or THE Apocalypse. Slayer here. Remember what I do? I'm supposed to stop this kind of crap. Or have you forgotten that?"

Giles looked ashamed for a moment, but then he just picked up his walkie talkie and ordered someone to get there immediately to fly Buffy to L.A. and then sent a message for a group of the fully trained Slayers to get to the air strip immediately. They were going to head to L.A.

Buffy knew that was his way of apologizing.

"I forgive you, Giles."

"That's well and good, but don't forget why you're there. You're not there for Angel or even for Spike for that matter. It's the Apocalypse."

"Giles, don't tell me what to do. I know I'm there for the damn Apocalypse. I'm the one who brought it up. Whatever else I do is my business," she said, trying to be kind.

All of a sudden they weren't alone anymore. A group of about fifty slayers had just arrived, along with the pilot.

"Alright girls, get in. I'll tell you what we're up against on the way," Buffy said, as the pilot boarded the plane.

"I'll take care of the rest of the girls. I'll let Willow and Xander know what's going on... Buffy, I don't hate him. I really don't. Things are just always bad for you when he's involved, Spike too. But I worry for you where Angel's concerned. You have this weakness for him. I worry less about Spike because while I know you had serious feelings for him, he doesn't make you weak in the knees, and therefore slightly less rational than you would normally be."

"Okay Giles I'm saying bye now, before I really start to get mad. I don't want to leave like that. There's a good chance I'm not coming back, any of us. Just stop talking and give me a hug."

"Good luck Buffy," Giles said sincerely, hugging his slayer.

"Bye Giles. I hope I'll be seeing you soon."

And with that, Buffy boarded the plane.

Buffy and her Slayers were in the air in minutes.

"L.A. Here we come."


	2. Chapter 2

o-0-o- Here's the next chapter. I'd love to know what you think. I appreciate reviews o-0-o-

Buffy had just finished explaining to the big group of Slayers what was going on. They now knew that they were going to be fighting another war, possibly to the death. Most girls shrugged it off, it's what they were supposed to do. All the slayers knew that death was always a likely end for them. They were protectors, they were fighters. This was their job.

A few girls had something to say, however.

"Why do we have to go? I'm getting sick of almost dying all the time."

"Excuse me?" Buffy snapped.

"Why do we have to go? Why do we always have to risk our lives?"

"You want to go back to Rome? Fine with me. We'll get the pilot to fly you cowards back once we're in L.A." Buffy said, disgusted.

The small group of girls were momentarily silent, but one still had something to say.

"We're only going because your vamp lover boys are in trouble. I don't think you actually care about the Apocalypse part... We're all slayers here. You don't get to talk to us like our leader. Anyway, who do you think you are-"

Before the girl could say another word, Buffy had her pinned against the plane's wall. Buffy was about to give this slayer brat a piece of her mind, when all of a sudden, she felt a gentle tug on her arm.

Buffy turned around and saw Willow, her anger vanishing.

Willow gave her a huge smile and a quick hug, but turned to the girl Buffy nearly pummelled.

"Did you really just ask her who she was? Did all that garbage actually come out of your mouth?" Willow questioned.

The girl seemed out of things to say and kept her mouth shut, sensing Buffy wouldn't hold back on her if she said another word.

"You wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for Buffy," Willow said, looking straight into the silent slayer's eyes. "None of you would be here."

Buffy looked to here friend and said, "Don't worry about it. I don't even care what they think right now."

"Even if you don't care what they have to say, I do. They don't know you, I do. I've got a few things to say first... All you girls may be Slayers but Buffy's THE Slayer. She gets to talk to you like your leader because she is. I don't see any of you ever organizing the plans to save anything or anyone. Honestly, what have you ever sacrificed? Who among you have died to save others? None of you. Buffy has, though. Do I need to get started on the fact that she can kick every one of your asses?" Willow looked at each girl, nobody had anything to say. "Good," Willow muttered.

She grabbed Buffy by the arm, and took her to a corner where they could talk privately. The look on Buffy's face changed suddenly, as something just dawned on her. "Will, how the hell did you get on the plane? We were flying."

Willow just grinned and showed Buffy her index finger. "The whole master of magic thing and the having powers stuff kinda comes in handy every now and then."

Just then, Buffy saw, what looked like a man who was feeling very sick, walking, seemingly drunk towards them.

"What the-? Who's that?" Buffy questioned.

"That's the Xand-man. I think he's a little sick. I flew him here with me," Willow laughed.

"Hi Buffy. Nice to see you. Point me towards the washroom," Xander said in a hurry, looking about ready to throw up.

Buffy grinned and pointed him in the right direction.

"You guys came. You literally flew here," Buffy said, amazed.

"Well of course. You know me and Xander haven't missed any Apocalypses, why start now? We don't want to miss all the fun," Willow said with a sad smile.

"Is Dawn totally pissed at me?" Buffy said, cringing slightly.

"A little bit, yeah. But she knows you're doing what you have to do."

"Whoa, she took it well," Buffy said, relived.

"I left some stuff out," Willow told her.

"She tried to grab on to me and Xander to get here. She said you could do they Slayer thing, that's what you do, but she was gonna come too. I knew you wouldn't want that for her. It's too dangerous, so I kind of had to use a spell to keep her where she was so we could leave... But don't worry it only lasted a minute and Giles is with her now... Speaking of Giles, he sounded kind of ashamed of himself or something. What's that about?" Willow asked.

"Watcher dearest, knew about the whole Apocalypse thing and about Angel and Spike needing my help in this, and he didn't tell me. He didn't tell me Will," Buffy answered, feeling slightly betrayed by Giles still.

"Come on Buff, I know it was wrong, but you can't really blame the guy," Xander said, coming out of the washroom.

"Someone's feeling better," Buffy said sarcastically.

"He was wrong, but he's looking out for you. He thought you would go because of Angel, and that something would happen to you. You know he's still iffy on Angel's goodness."

"Okay Xander, I'm going to say this one more time, and that's it, because I'm getting really annoyed. I'm going to L.A. to help Angel, yes, you're damn right there. I'm going to help him in a freakin' war. Apocalypse to be precise. Apocalypse plus Slayer equals 'be in L.A.' And yeah, I'm aware of Giles' theory on Angel being bad, but I don't believe it or care. I'm worried about Angel, I'm not gonna lie. He's always with me. But I don't ever forget that I'm the Slayer. First and foremost I'll be there to fight."

"Buy you'll be thinking about him the whole time, oh yeah and Spike too. This is going to be interesting. L.A. is definitely the place you need to be," Xander said, annoying Buffy further.

"Okay it's shut up Xander time, I see that," he said.

Buffy's expression softened. "Come here ding dong. Where's my hug?"

Xander walked over to Buffy, and gave his friend a hug. "Where's my Willow?" he asked. "It's group hug time, Xander sandwich," he joked, as Willow joined the love-fest.

"I missed you guys," Buffy said, as they broke apart.

"Ditto," her friends responded.

"I think I'm gonna hit the sack. I want to attempt to get some sort of sleep. We're gonna be in L.A. by morning. And I need a clear brain for all the drama that I'm sure is gonna ensue."

"She wants her beauty sleep so she'll look pretty for Angel," Xander teased.

"Xander, dear friend, do you have a death wish?" Buffy asked him.

"Goodnight Buffy."

"That-s better Xand- man," she said, blowing him a kiss.

"Night Buffy," Willow said, giving her a hug.

Buffy made her way to the back of the plane and got into one of the seats. She tried to sleep, she really did. But sleep would not come for awhile. She hated to admit it, but Xander was kind of right.

Almost all she thought about was Angel, and then she thought about Spike, then back to Angel. It was always back to Angel. A lot has happened in a year. Things were certainly going to be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

o-0-o- Here's the new chapter. Review and enjoy. o-0-o-

Everyone but Buffy was sleeping. She was in her own little world, thoughts continuously running through her mind.

"I'm not worried about dying, but I'm worried about seeing Angel and Spike. I really am a whack job," Buffy mumbled.

The last time she had seen or spoken to either of them was the year before, in the midst of yet another Apocalypse. The memories came flooding back.

Angel showed up back in Sunnydale, ready to fight side by side with Buffy in, at that time, what could have been the last war they ever would fight. But she wouldn't let him. He knew there was more than one reason why, and Spike was one of those reasons. God knows that Buffy was happy to see Angel, but she knew that if he was there fighting with her, somehow it would lessen Spike and all that he had done, and she couldn't do that to him. It was Spike's turn to be a hero, to have his moment. He'd worked hard. But this was not the only reason.

The other reason, she told Angel pretty honestly. She couldn't risk Angel. She told him that she might need a second front and that he would have to be the one to run it if Buffy and the gang couldn't stop the ever-spreading evil. It also had a whole lot to do with the fact that the thought of him dying here in Sunnydale because he came help her out was absolutely unbearable. The thought of a world without Angel wasn't something she could take at that time.

The conversation got really serious, she even admitted to Angel that she did have feelings for Spike. She would not lie to Angel about that. Oh, and the cookie speech, she would never forget THAT, as long as she would live. She was still baking, not really ready for anyone yet, but when she was done baking, and she was finally cookies someone could eat her. What a metaphor to use when talking to a vampire. She was the Slayer, but she had her stupid moments, she could admit that.

Angel got the idea of her speech. He asked her, when the time would come that she was ready, did she have any idea of who she would want?

She had told him that she wasn't thinking that far ahead, and she saw a glint of pain in his eyes. Who the hell was she kidding? He was kind of always going to be there. She could never really think about the future without seeing him too, even after everything, even if it was next to impossible. She was not ready for him yet. It was too soon. Too much had happened. Not just between them either. She needed to figure out who she was, minus a guy. But, she would always be waiting for him in a way.

Telling him that she wasn't thinking that far ahead would not be 100 percent true, and she couldn't just leave things with Angel at that. She would never forgive herself if that was the last thing she said to him. That would not be the way things would end for them.

"Angel... I do- sometimes think that far ahead," she had said with a small smile.

"Sometimes is something," was his response.

"It'll be years, if ever," she said honestly.

He smiled at her and said simply, "I aint getting any older."

And that was the last she saw of Angel, the last thing they had said to one another.

"It's only been a year, but I think I just might be cookies." she whispered to the air. "But that's not what matters right now. I don't even know where that conversation would start."

Xander's head rolled onto Buffy's shoulder while he slept. She looked at him and smiled.

When thinking about Angel or Spike, she couldn't help but think of Xander too. His hatred for the two vampires was well known. He was always worried about Buffy where Angel and Spike were involved. However, with time the hatred lessened a bit. The whole Spike saving the world and dying thing had helped with that.

She only recently found out that Spike was actually still alive. She remembered so clearly her last moment with him. She had told him she loved him. It wasn't really a lie, because truthfully she did come to care about him very much. But she wasn't in love with him, and he knew it. He even told her so. He told her to get out of there, and he pretty much sacrificed himself.

Buffy smiled, while she thought about him. He really did turn out to be a good guy. She was going to kick his ass, however, for not telling her that he was alive all this time. She would do this when the fighting was done, assuming they would still all be there when the fighting was done.

She thought about Giles and Dawn and felt a bit sad. Buffy knew she needed to talk to her sister. She left without even saying goodbye. If this really was going to be the end, she needed to hear her sister's voice one more time.

Buffy got up quietly and moved to an empty area where she wouldn't wake anyone up. She picked up the phone and dialled her sister's number.

Dawn answered the phone without a hello. "It's about damn time you called me," she practically yelled into the phone.

"I know you're mad Dawnie. But please don't be."

"Buffy-"

"Dawn, I know that you're about to give me the 'I'm all grown up and I can take care of myself speech' and I know that it's true. But I don't care. You're my little sister and this worry I have for you never goes away. I don't want you here. It's too dangerous, kid."

"You suck. Did you know that?" Dawn asked.

"Take care of Giles, Dawn, okay?"

"I will," she sighed.

"I love you. Don't ever forget that," Buffy said, starting to tear up a bit. This would be the part of Buffy that was a bit scared of dying, the part that loved her sister and wanted to be around whenever Dawn would need her.

"Don't do that, Buffy. Do not cry. If you're crying that means you're saying goodbye. And I'm not ready to say goodbye to you. That doesn't happen till we're old and wrinkly. Do you understand me?" Dawn said, crying herself, on the other end of the phone.

"No goodbyes kiddo. I'll be seeing you real soon," Buffy said, wiping her eyes.

"Yeah that's really reassuring," Dawn said, sarcastically, wiping her eyes also.

"I'll talk to you soon. I promise," Buffy said.

"If you don't call me again in the next few hours, I swear I'm coming to L.A."

"Dawn-"

"Don't argue with me Buffy. That's the deal. I know you're okay, and I'll stay where I am. Otherwise I'm coming to find you... Oh, and I love you too."

Buffy sighed. "You stay where you are. Don't worry, you'll be hearing from me soon."

"Okay."

"Alright then, bye Dawnie."

"Bye Buffy."

She knew she should be worried about the war, but mostly, she wasn't. Dying was not really a scary idea anymore, with the exception of not seeing her sister and Giles. Instead she thought about what it would be like to be fighting side by side with Angel again.

She smiled to herself. "Me, Willow, Xander, Angel and Spike. If I'm gonna go out, that's a damn good group of people to go down with."

Buffy started to walk back to her seat when the phone rang. She answered the phone, only to discover that it was Dawn.

"I know we just hung up Buffy, but I've changed the rule. You have to call me in the next hour, not few. So, in 1 hour my phone should be ringing."

Buffy laughed a little bit. "Okay kid. 1 hour, and-"

All of a sudden something went wrong, the phone flew out of Buffy's hand, and the plane started to fall.

"Buffy?" Dawn called out through the phone.

No answer.

"Buffy!" she yelled.

No answer.

Buffy was in the corner, bleeding from the head, knocked unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

o-0-o I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter. Here's the new one. Review and enjoy! o-0-o

When Buffy finally came to, she saw Willow standing over her, wiping her bloody forehead.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"Stupid plane crashed. The pilot fell asleep or something," Willow replied.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, everyone's fine. You got the worst of it. Were you standing up or something when it happened?"

"Yeah I was on the phone with Dawn," Buffy told her.

"I managed to give us a slightly softer landing than we would have had."

"It's good to be friends with a witch," Buffy grinned.

Willow laughed.

"Oh shit," Buffy cursed. "What time is it Will?"

"It's 5 a.m. Why?"

"It's been more than an hour. Dawn said if she didn't hear from me in an hour she was coming to L.A. She was worried... Is the phone still working? I need to call her. I hope she wasn't serious. She better not be coming."

Willow brought Buffy the phone. Buffy dialled the number to where Dawn and Giles were staying, but there was no answer.

"She's coming," Buffy said, worrying about her sister. "And I'm pretty sure she's bringing Giles."

"Who's bringing Giles?" Xander asked, walking over to his friends.

"Dawnie dearest."

"Oh so now you're in sister and slayer mode," Xander said simply.

"Yep... Okay well I'll deal with that when the time comes... Are we in L.A. yet? Can this plane even do anymore flying?"

"Yes , and I don't think so," Willow answered.

"Slayers, we're here. Ultimately it's up to you, but we came here to fight a war together, so I'd prefer if we stick together for right now. I want to know what's going on. When I find out, I will let you know, and then we can spread out into groups and do what we're supposed to. I don't know what we're going to be walking into. I don't think the fighting has started yet. But, if it has, you know what to do. Slay! Go to where it looks like the most damage is and take care of it... Got it girls?"

Every single Slayer nodded their heads, even the brat from the day before.

"If this means anything to you, I AM proud of you," Buffy told her slayers. "Now let's get to work."

With that, everyone exited the airplane.

When their feet were back on solid ground, they all looked around.

"I think we got here before all the doom and destruction," Xander said hopefully.

"Okay then. I need to find Angel. He'll give us the details," Buffy said, mostly to herself.

"Let's do that then," Willow said.

"Alright ladies and one gentleman. My best bet for finding him right now, is Wolfram and Hart, so that's where we'll head."

Buffy, Willow, and Xander led the 50 Slayers down the, for now, quiet streets of L.A.

"Well this is it," Buffy said when the finally reached the massive building. "I think it would be best if I went in myself-"

Xander nudged Buffy and whispered, so only she and Willow would hear, "Need some time alone with Angel?"

Buffy slapped him and continued to speak. "I think I should go just because, we don't really know what's waiting in there, Angel might not even be there. This could be some kind of trap, so I want us to be prepared. You guys stay out here and be alert, be ready for anything, though I think we're okay for now."

With that, Buffy stepped through the doors of Wolfram and Hart.

It seemed deserted, everything was silent. Buffy made her way to the second floor, looking for someone, preferably Angel or Spike. It was no use, this place was deserted.

Buffy sighed as she decided to check out the other floors.

"Hey, who are you?" Buffy heard someone call out.

She turned around and saw a teenage boy. Something about him looked familiar, very familiar.

Before she could answer or think about the boy's looks any further, she was pushing him to the floor. "Watch out," she shouted.

Someone popped out of nowhere and was lunging at the boy with a weapon.

The mystery person turned his attention to Buffy this time. "You shouldn't get your pretty self involved in this type of situation. You might get hurt."

Buffy laughed. "Don't worry, you're not gonna hurt me."

"That's right. He's not gonna hurt you," the boy said, getting up, knocking down the unknown man, and moving Buffy aside.

"Chivalry lives," Buffy grinned. "Sweet as you are, kid, you need to get out of here. This guy can hurt you. This is nothing I can't handle. You go be a normal teen guy and let me do my job," she panted, turning over the desk that was in front of her, and throwing it at the attacker, seemingly knocking him out.

"I'm not a normal teen guy, trust me."

Buffy decided to humour the kid. "And why exactly are you not normal?"

"I shouldn't even be on this planet. I'm a human born from two vampires," he answered simply. "Who are you? I take it your not exactly normal either. You just threw a table at a guy."

Before she could actually formulate a thought, another masked man rushed into the room, this time with a weapon. Buffy ran at him, running him through the wall. As she did this, his mask came off, revealing a vampire.

"Get me a stake," Buffy shouted at the boy.

He broke one of the legs off from the table and threw it at Buffy, who was still holding the vamp down. She plunged it through his heart, and he turned to dust.

She turned back to the teen, looking quite impressed. He was strong.

She noticed the other man getting up, and assuming he was a vamp too, staked him before he knew what hit him.

"I think I know who you are," he now grinned. "You've got to be Buffy. You're the Slayer, right?"

"Yeah... how do you know who I am?"

"My dad's told me about you."

"Your dad?" She finally realized who this kid was. "You're Angel's son," she practically whispered. This was weird.

"Yeah, my name is Conner."

"You're definitely his son," Buffy said, somewhat amazed. "You're like him, did you know that?"

He didn't really know how to reply to that.

"Do you know where he is?" they both asked at the same time.

"I guess that would be a no," Buffy said, worriedly. "I really need to see him," Buffy said.

"Me too," Conner answered. "I can't believe I actually listened to him when he told me to get out of here. He only said that so I wouldn't feel obligated to help him."

"When did you talk to him, what did he say?" Buffy asked in a hurry.

"This is apparently gonna be some big war, and he told me to stay the hell away from it."

"And he meant it. Stay away. Go back home, Conner. He doesn't want you to get hurt. You don't even know what you mean to him."

"We hardly know each other."

"He loves you. Do you even understand what kind of miracle you are? He's a vampire. Vampires aren't supposed to be able to have kids. I've been told that more than once," she said, revealing something that didn't really need to be said, it wasn't important now. "Trust me on that. I've done my research. Do what he tells you. Go home."

"Go home and pretend like nothing's happening. Forget that my dad's off somewhere right now fighting, probably getting himself killed. And now you too. I can't just do nothing. And I don't think he'd ever forgive me for letting you go off and die without even helping." he told her.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. You and your dad know that perfectly well," Buffy said, getting really nervous. "I need you to do me a favour."

"What?"

"Go home. And keep watch for a girl. Her name is Dawn. She's about your age. She's my sister, and she'll probably be with an older man. He's British and we call him Giles."

"But-"

"I'm not kidding. Please do this for me. She's not a Slayer, this war is not for her. I need to know that she's safe. She should be here soon. She's coming because she's worried about me. Please find her and let her stay with you. Tell her that you know me."

"What does she look like?"

"She's beautiful, she's got dark hair, not too tall. She'll probably be wearing dangly star earrings."

"And what if she won't come?"

"Tell her who you are. Tell her you're Angel's son. She'll go with you."

"Okay," Conner agreed.

"Thank you," she said, giving him a hug. "Why don't you come down with me. I'll send a few of my other slayers with you. Just in case you get into trouble."

"Don't worry about me, or your sister. I'll keep us safe."

Buffy smiled. "You're Angel's son, I'm not risking anything happening to you. And my sister, God knows, I will never not worry about her."

Buffy and Conner were practically running down the stairs, hurrying to reach the bottom.

"Okay gang, the fighting has started it's just not here. This is Conner. He's Angel's son... Megan, Liya, and Dina, you're going to go with Conner. Make sure everything's okay. Watch out for Dawn too-"

Buffy was cut off by the deafening sound of an explosion. "And that's the direction the rest of us are going."

There was a fire breaking out in another area, and freaky looking creatures were flying in the air.

"Okay pick your direction and go slay. Good luck," Buffy yelled, running in the direction of the fire and the hell creatures.

All separated and headed off in their own directions. Willow and Xander ran with Buffy. Willow threw Buffy a couple stakes and a sword. Xander and Willow were already weaponed up.

Rain started to pour, but the fire just got bigger.

Screams were now heard from all different directions. The fighting had really started.

Buffy, Willow and Xander, barely made it passed what looked like a medium sized meteor alive. They rounded a corner, and before they separated for what could be the last time, had a quick hug. "Love you guys," they all said at once.

"Go!" Buffy yelled.

Xander and Willow headed off in the direction of some sickening screams of pain. Buffy ran straight ahead.

There was everything that people were told did not exist, right there. Right down to a monstrous dragon. A dragon.

Someone was charging at the dragon while the others battled the various other creatures of the Apocalypse. She ran to them to lend a hand. Before she even saw his face she knew Angel was there. He was going after the dragon. He plunged his sword into the ferocious beast, with little result. That thing was monstrous. Angel was thrown violently into a brick wall, as the dragon tried to corner him there.

"No. No. No." Buffy cried out, running as fast as she could. "Angel!" she yelled.

He heard her voice and turned toward her. "Buffy," he whispered.

The dragon actually started to blow fire, but turned in Buffy's direction this time. Buffy was knocked to the ground with the strength of the flame, but not getting burned.

"Get out of here, now!" Angel yelled, as he plunged his sword back into the dragon, this time in the neck. This did a little more damage than the last sword shot.

Buffy got back up and joined Angel in the stabbing of the dragon.

"Get out of here," Angel told her, panting.

"Yeah right," she yelled back. "There's an Apocalypse and you think I'm gonna leave you. I know you're smarter than that," she continued as she repeated sticking the dragon with her sword while Angel did the same.

"Is that you Slayer?" someone yelled from another corner.

"Spike?" she yelled back.

"That's me love," he shouted back, as he fought off an unknown creature.

"If we're alive when this is done, I'm gonna kick your ass for not telling me you're alive."

"You can go right ahead. I won't even fight back. I promise," Spike laughed as he ducked out of his foe's reach.

Angel and Buffy looked at one another and knew what the other was thinking.

"On three," Angel said.

Buffy nodded.

"One. Two. Three."

With that Buffy and Angel swung their swords, from opposite sides, at the dragon's head, knocking the winged creature dead.

Spike killed whatever he was fighting and moved onto the next ugly thing. A woman with blue hair was blasting things left and right, definitely helping with the fight. Things, in this alley were definitely going our way.

Something charged at Buffy, but was taken out by Angel before it got too close. Buffy plunged

her sword through the chest of what had to be the ugliest man she had ever seen, and then staked something else.

The demons kept coming but Buffy, Angel, Spike and the mysterious woman kept cutting them down.

After hours of fighting, a whole lot of bleeding on the heroes' part, and the burning of a good chunk of the city, their evil enemies were gone. They were finally gone. And so were the screams that were heard all around before.

Willow sent Buffy a sort of psychic message. They were okay. They had lost twenty of the fifty Slayers. Dawn and Giles were there. And everyone else was okay. Faith had showed up and helped kick some ass with them.

"Thank God," Buffy whispered.

Buffy was breathing heavily, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Angel. She couldn't believe she was actually seeing him, that they were both alive.

He was staring at her too, not saying anything, apparently feeling the same way she was.

"Hi," she finally said, with smile.

"Hi, back," he replied, walking towards her.

They walked into each other's arms without a word, and just held each other for awhile.


	5. Chapter 5

o-0-o Here's the new chapter. Enjoy. o-0-o

"This is what it takes for us to finally see each other. An Apocalypse?... I'm not liking that so much," Buffy finally said, smacking Angel on the arm.

Angel laughed, and kissed her forehead. "It's really good to see you."

"Ditto," she replied. "You and me need to talk, Angel. Not right now, because I'm just happy that we're alive, but sometime soon. I'm nervous as hell, but there are things that need to be said."

"I know."

Spike and the blue haired woman approached them now.

Buffy greeted Spike with a fist to the face.

"Ow," he complained.

"Okay, now that that's out of the way, you can have a hug," she laughed.

"Who is this one?" the blue haired warrior asked Angel and Spike.

"This is Buffy." Spike said, rubbing his head. "And Buffy, this is Illyria. She used to rule her own dimension. She's new to this one."

Illyria tilted her head to the side and studied Buffy, from top to bottom.

Buffy looked a little bit uncomfortable, but decided to be pleasant. She stuck out her hand, and said, "It's nice to meet you. Anyone helping these guys out is a friend of mine."

Illyria looked down at Buffy's hand, not knowing what she was supposed to do with it.

"I'm not gonna take your hand off. You just shake it, like this," Buffy said, taking Illyria's hand in her own.

"See? No harm done," Buffy said, with a smile.

"Yes," Illyria said, with a single nod of her head.

Angel and Spike were both grinning at the exchange between the two women. It was weird to see Illyria act , well normal still wouldn't be an appropriate word, but not so weird.

"You are quite strong for a human. You are as strong is these two immortals, perhaps more so. I think you would perhaps beat them in a fight," Illyria continued, facing Buffy.

Buffy grinned. "I'm the Slayer," Buffy said simply.

"Slayer of what?" Illyria asked, not being sarcastic.

"The official title is Vampire Slayer, but I'm not at all picky. I slay anything that's evil."

"Vampire Slayer? Why have you not slain these two? They are vampires."

Buffy let out a nervous laugh. "Well my boys over there aren't evil, so no slaying."

"Do you love them, perhaps? Is that why you do not do what your title describes?"

"Whoa," was all Buffy managed to say.

"You look at Angel the way Wesley looked at pictures of his Winifred Burkle. He said that he loved her very much."

Buffy just bit her lip. She wasn't ready to let her feelings out here, to this woman she didn't even know, to Spike, or even Angel for that matter.

"We should go find the rest of my gang," Buffy said, changing the subject. "Most of them are still alive. I really need to see Dawn first though," Buffy said, walking ahead.

This is when Spike knew that he would never be with Buffy again. She had changed the subject way too quickly. And he saw the same thing Illyria did, the way Buffy looked at Angel.

"You brought the little niblet to the Apocalypse? Are you mental?" Spike finally asked, as they followed Buffy.

"No, I did not bring my sister to the freakin' Apocalypse. She came on her own because she was worried about me."

"Did you let her fight?" Spike asked.

"No I didn't. I protect mine, Spike. She's fine. She was safe."

"Where was she?" Spike asked, he still worried about Dawn, she was like family to him.

"With Conner," she said, this time, turning to Angel.

"Huh?" was all that Angel managed to get out.

"Listen Buffy. I'll see you and the rest of your Scoobies in a bit. I think I'm gonna go get a drink

or ten."

"I think I will go with you," Illyria said, following Spike.

"I met your son, Angel," Buffy said, not knowing exactly what she felt.

"Oh... When?"

"When I went to Wolfram and Hart, looking for you."

"He went back there?" Angel said.

"No worries. He's fine. These two vamps came after us, but we did just fine. He's a tough kid, and he looks like you. He's just a tad less stubborn. He's got the whole junior hero thing going on, too. He tried to save me," she smiled. "It must be genetic"

Angel just shook his head, amused. "How did you manage to convince him to leave?" he asked, as they rounded the corner.

"He went there looking for you. He wanted to help you fight. He told me you told him to stay away from the war. I knew you really meant it, so I told him so. I told him you loved him. Son of not one vampire, but two. I told him that he was a miracle. And you didn't want to risk him.

"He told me still that he couldn't just leave you alone to fight without helping out, and then he said the same thing about me. He said you wouldn't forgive him if I left and I died because he didn't help" she smiled.

"Okay, still, how did you convince him to leave?" Angel asked, amazed.

"I told him I needed his help. I told him I needed him to find and take care of my sister for me, because I was worried about her. And honestly, that wasn't a lie, it was just a handy way to get him out of the picture. I know you really didn't want him to fight. And I don't think I could live with myself if something would have happened to him without my at least trying to keep him safe for you."

"Thank you," Angel said sincerely, knowing that meeting his son must have been a really weird experience for Buffy.

"I sent him home with 3 of my slayers. He tried to protest, and promised me he'd keep Dawn safe. It was sweet... He really is your son... God, that's sounds so weird, 'your son'."

"I know what you mean," he answered quietly.

They were quiet for a moment.

"You should have told me you had a son," Buffy suddenly burst out, full of emotion.


	6. Chapter 6

"I know. I'm sorry," Angel told her

"I found out from Wesley, Angel. I found out that you had a kid, from Wesley. Why did I find out from him? You didn't think that this was something I deserved to know?"

"I didn't know how I was supposed to tell you. What did you want me to say? 'Hey Buffy, guess what? I've got a kid. Yeah I know I told you that vampires couldn't have children, but apparently that was a load of bull. And guess who his mother is? Darla... Call me a coward if you want, but I didn't know how to bring it up. After everything you and I have gone through. How was I supposed to tell you that I had a kid? That was the impossible thing that I wanted to share with you. I dreamt about a family with you Buffy, a life with you. Even though we weren't together, I still dreamt of you. Then pretty much all of a sudden, hey, I've got a kid, because some other power decided so... We weren't together, but what if you hated him? How the hell would I live with that?"

Buffy softened by Angel's honesty. All the old emotions were coming back, and they were coming back strong.

They stopped walking.

"I could never hate Conner. He's your son. He's a part of you," Buffy said.

Angel couldn't look at her.

"Look at me," she told him. "I don't hate him. I swear. I really like him."

"Where do you get off being mad at me, though? It's not like I was the only one who keeping things. You had your secrets too. Plenty of them. Let's not mention I only found out about you and Spike because I could smell him all over you when I came to help you out last year."

"Don't you dare throw Spike in my face, Angel. You can blame every guy I've been with on yourself."

"Excuse me?" he answered.

"You left me, remember? You left me on Graduation Day, and you didn't say goodbye," Buffy yelled, crying now. "I would have stayed with you until the day I died if you never left. I would have never been with anyone else."

"I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, Buffy. It was stupid. But I thought it was right," he said quietly, reaching for her arm. "I wanted you to have a good life, a normal one. And I really thought that me not being around you would be better for you. Not me, but you. It was never about me not wanting to be with you. I wanted you to live and be happy and move on, but I didn't think you'd forget me. I didn't think you'd forget us completely."

"I gave you everything I could possibly give. I even gave you my blood. You had all of me," she said, pushing her shirt off of her shoulder, revealing the scar he had left her with after Buffy forced him to feed off of her.

She grabbed his hand, and brought it up to the mark on her neck.

"You see that?" she said. "Feel it," she told him.

He wouldn't do it.

"Do it," she said, with force this time.

He slowly ran his fingers across her neck, he felt the slight bump of her skin in the scarred area.

Buffy shivered at his touch.

"I couldn't forget you, even if I wanted to. You and me have always had a connection, but after you drank from me, it only became stronger. I can feel you even when we're not together. If there was ever a time when you actually weren't on my mind, all I'd have to do is stand in front of a mirror or run my finger across my neck. Forgetting you is not a possibility, trust me. After you left, I tried to forget you, but I can't... You're always with me, " she told him.

"I'm sorry for that," he said, taking his hand away from her neck.

"Don't be... I'm not."

Angel looked confused.

"You were gonna die. You needed my blood to live. I gave it to you. And I'd do it again, because I trust you. I put my life in your hands, and you protected it. I have never trusted anyone like that in my life. A girl doesn't forget the person who she experienced that with. A girl doesn't forget the guy she gave her virginity to, the guy who had her whole heart," she said, staring intently at Angel.

Angel just closed his eyes. "I'm an asshole."

"With good intentions," Buffy said, without any anger. The anger was gone now.

"I'm sorry for bringing this stuff up. We shouldn't even be talking about this. It's just nice to know that I still matter. But you're with the Immortal. And I said I'd wait for you to be cookies," Angel rambled.

Tears began to run down Buffy's face again, coming from a variety of different emotions.

"I'm sorry. Okay, I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut," Angel said, hugging Buffy.

"There they are," Buffy heard Willow yell.

Buffy wanted to tell Angel so many things, but it would have to wait.

Buffy saw her sister, and ran to her. She grabbed Dawn and squeezed her tight.

"You're all good, right?" she asked her sister, looking her over.

"Well if having Giles with me wasn't protection enough, I had 3 slayers and Conner all watching my every move. There wasn't really any time where I could do something that would result in my not being good," Dawn said jokingly, hugging her sister back.

Giles was next to hug Buffy. "Thank God you're alright," he said.

"I love you too, Giles," Buffy replied with a laugh.

Xander and Willow double hugged Buffy next.

"We survived another Apocalypse," the trio laughed in unison.

"Don't be so sure of that," Faith yelled, pointing ahead.

A whole new army of hell beasts were flying and running straight at them.

"Not again," Buffy cursed. "Everybody grab your weapons. Dawn you stay with me, and you do not let go of that sword."

Everyone spread out a bit, they all looked pretty bad, beaten up and bloody, yet they kept on fighting.

"The others were just the warm up act. We're the main attraction," one of the beasts said.

"Fight!" Buffy and Angel screamed together.

Swords clanged, punches were thrown, and buildings were being knocked down.

Buffy kept looking at her sister, Dawn was beside her, battling off some ugly creature, while Buffy was fighting her own battle.

Angel was in combat with three of the hell spawn, while Xander, Willow, and Giles, Faith and the Slayers were all duelling enemies of their own.

Another eight slayers were killed.

"I don't know how long we can hold this off," Xander said worriedly.

"Sorry to show up late for the party," Spike yelled, running over with Illyria to join the fight.

Illyria started to blow things up left, right, and centre. But there were too many demons to fight. The good guys were outnumbered.

Willow had a plan. She grabbed Xander's hand. "Whoever can manage to get over to me, do it right now, especially you, Blue Hair."

Illyria went to Willow, as did six slayers, Spike, and Giles.

Willow grabbed Illyria's hand. And the others followed.

"I'm going to try to combine our strength. Do not let go of anyone's hand, and stay quiet."

Willow started to recite some sort of incantation. An energy was running through all 11 individuals, and it was being forced on the evil beasts.

Slowly, a portion of the hell creatures, ceased to exist. This combined power just might be able to beat them.

Faith and eight other slayers now managed to get over to Willow's group, and joined their hands also.

The power was growing stronger with every hand that joined and every word that was coming out from an extremely exhausted Willow.

Bursts of energy, or power, call it whatever you will, were shooting in all directions, vanquishing an increasing number of the enemy.

Buffy, Angel, and Dawn were down at the other end of the street.

The remaining slayers finally joined the group.

Fire bombs were coming out the end of Willow's fingers. They were winning.

"Just one more minute," Willow told herself, as she focused on the area where Buffy, Angel, and Dawn were.

But she couldn't hold out any longer, this magic, this power drained her, she fell to the ground, only a few monsters remaining.

"Willow!" Xander screamed.

Dawn turned around to see what was going on. "No!" she yelled, forgetting that she was cornered by evil beings.

A yellow faced creature was now running at Dawn with a sword.

"Not my sister!" Buffy screamed, running at Dawn, pushing her to the ground.

The last thing Buffy felt was a sword plunging into her chest.

Buffy had died before. She knew what to expect. Her life would quickly flash before her eyes, and maybe even a fantasy or two.

It would all be over in a minute.

3,2,1.

"I love you guys," were the last words out of Buffy's mouth.

Death had come.

o-0-o- I hope you liked the chapter. There's more to come! Tell me what you think. o-0-o-


	7. Chapter 7

o-0-o-Hope you like this chapter. Review please! o-0-o

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled. "No!" she screamed, running back to her sister, cradling her in her arms.

Angel sliced his enemy's head off, and finally turned around, and saw Buffy in her sister's arms.

Illyria, Spike and Faith, finished off the last of the demons.

Angel ran to Dawn and Buffy. He took off his jacket in a hurry and held it against Buffy's bloody chest. "I'll stop the bleeding. We'll get you to a hospital. You'll be fine, Buffy. You hear me?" Angel said frantically.

The rest of the group ran over immediately.

"Come on Buffy, open your eyes," Angel repeated, part of him already knowing she was gone.

Dawn just looked at him with tears in her eyes.

Willow, Xander, Spike, Giles, and Faith were all gathered around Buffy's body.

More tears were flowing now. The only dry eye belonged to Illyria, who just stared intently at the others.

"She's dead," Willow said, admitting what everyone else had already figured out.

"Hospital," Angel muttered.

He picked up Buffy. "I'm taking her to the hospital," he said, still somewhat in denial.

"Angel. The hospital's gone," Faith said gently.

It was one of the many buildings that were destroyed.

Dawn was sobbing uncontrollably. "Buffy. Buffy. I'm sorry. Come back. Please."

Spike went over to Dawn, and took her in his arms. "Shh..." He didn't know what to say. He was trying to control his own tears.

"We need to get her out of here," Xander said. "She's cold," he whispered, tears streaming down his face.

"She's dead," Faith said, trying to be kind.

"Angel, give her to me. I'll see if there's anything I can do. I'll meet you guys back at the old hotel," Willow said, trying to wipe away her tears.

Angel handed Buffy over gently to Willow. Willow took Buffy, and flew off.

Angel ran ahead, followed immediately by the others, racing for the hotel.

All Angel could think was "She can't be dead."

Willow lay her best friend down gently on the bed. She took off the shirt that was soaked with

Her blood.

"I promise you I'm not using dark magic," Willow whispered.

Willow placed her hand softly on Buffy's bloody stomach. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. "Close. Close. Blood be gone. Blood be inside. Close. Close. Mortal wound close. Mortal wound be gone. Heal and let this body be healed."

The blood wasn't vanishing. It was still there. Buffy was still dead.

"Get up," Willow sobbed.

Nothing.

"Breath come back. Beat heart, once more. Life. Come back. Fill this body once more."

Nothing seemed to be working.

Willow grabbed Buffy's hand and kept chanting. Not giving up.

Buffy looked down on her best friend and her own body. Willow kept chanting away.

Buffy knew she was dead, but she couldn't help but watch Willow try to revive her.

"You never would give up on me Will" Buffy smiled sadly to herself. "Thank you for trying."

Her body was down there with Willow, but whatever she was now, was high above. Almost as if Buffy was flying.

The door flew open, and everyone else arrived. There were so many tears, all for her. Buffy Summers was quite loved.

The sight of Dawn bawling, broke Buffy's heart. Could she say that anymore, though?

"I have no more heart. Buffy said, realizing that her body was now just an illusion, one only that she herself could see.

Xander closed his eyes, and tried to make is tears go away. "Buffy we need you."

Giles held his head in his hands. He kept muttering, "My girl, my girl. Gone again. Should be me."

Spike wasn't saying a word, but he let the tears flow freely, and tried to comfort Dawn.

Faith was breathing heavily, and whispered, "I'm sorry. It should have been me. You were always better than me. Better Slayer, better person... I don't know where you are. But if somehow you can hear me, I promise I'll take care of these guys. I'll do good."

Buffy smiled. "Thank you."

She looked to Angel, her Angel. He was sitting in the corner. He looked dazed. Tears stained his face. "Buffy," was all he said.

He got up and left the room.

Buffy followed.

He walked to an empty room, and pulled something out of his pocket.

Buffy recognized it immediately. It was a Claddagh ring, two of them actually.

"You kept them?" Buffy cried. "Yours and mine... You never were one to tell me everything. The kept rings shouldn't surprise me, that's just a tiny secret in a world filled of things kept from me. But I'm not mad, not anymore. I forgive you. It's hard to stay mad at you, Angel"

"I should be dead. I should have been killed the minute I laid eyes on you. All I have ever done was make things hard for you. And now you're here, and you're d-... you're gone. You're not here because you came to help me."

"It's not your fault," Buffy whispered, trying to reach out to him, to touch him. It wasn't possible.

"I didn't tell you enough. But I love you. More than I've ever loved anyone. And I'm sorry for all that I never said-"

Angel stopped talking as someone entered the room. It was Xander.

"Hey," he muttered.

Angel just nodded.

"I don't know if this will help or not. But she loved you, Angel. She didn't stop."

"Thanks," Angel said.

"It hurts, but you need to come out there. Look at her. It might help."

"How would that help, Xander?" Angel asked. "Buffy was alive and full of energy and fight. In the next room, that's not the Buffy any of us know... And besides, if I go out there, it makes this more real. It's real enough without looking at her lifeless body."

"You don't want to look at her because you feel responsible," Xander challenged.

To his surprise, Angel had nothing to say in response.

"Willow hasn't given up yet. She's still chanting. It would be good if you came out."

"Do you think she can really bring her back?" Angel asked.

Xander didn't respond, which was answer enough for Angel. Xander didn't believe Buffy was coming back either.

"I should go see Dawn," Angel muttered, and finally went back into the main room with Xander.

Buffy stayed in the empty room for awhile, just staring at nothing in particular, mostly just thinking.

"You were loved," she heard voices say.

She turned around.

"It's you," she said, awe in her voice.


	8. Chapter 8

o-0-o- Here's the new chapter. I'd love to hear what you think o-0-o-

Buffy stared at the two other-worldly beings. There was a male and a female. They almost seemed to shine.

"I've seen you before. The last time I died, I saw you in a fantasy flash or something. I saw you again tonight."

"You saw no fantasy," was the swift reply.

"What do you want? Who are you?" Buffy asked.

"It is not about what we want."

"Alright then, care to explain?" Buffy wondered.

"You are a warrior."

"That was kind of my calling, you know? Slayer and all."

"The vampire with a soul is a warrior also," one of the two monotonous voices said.

"Yes he is," Buffy replied, not knowing where this conversation was going.

"You have been selfish on occasion," the male of the duo said.

Buffy raised her eyebrow.

"But much more often than not, you have put others' lives before your own, their happiness before your own. You have died for the world," the female said.

Buffy didn't know what she was supposed to say. "I guess that's a decent recap of my life."

"You wish to be down there, with your people," the man said, not asking.

"That would be really nice. But let's not start putting ideas in my dead head," Buffy responded.

"Angel fought bravely tonight," the woman said.

Buffy had no clue where the conversation was going, but she continued answering these strange beings.

"He did. But that's Angel for you. He's a brave guy. Good to have in a fight."

"You know that there are prophecies in which he is spoken of?"

Buffy's eyes widened

"You're the Shanshu guys, the Powers?...Give him his humanity back. He's done everything and more. He deserves this," Buffy said, feeling an energy rising in herself.

They seemed to ignore her.

Buffy looked back down at her people. Angel finally came over and sat beside her body.

"Make him human again," Buffy repeated.

"Would you consider that to be a gift? Would you consider being back down there with them again to be a gift?" the woman asked

Were they trying to torture her? Of course it would be a gift.

"Yes," Buffy answered softly.

"The time has come for reward. The one and only time"

Buffy watched Angel take her hand in his, while Willow still held on to the other one, chanting.

"Life is your gift," the voices said.

Angel's lips met Buffy's forehead.

Buffy's being was back in her body.

Angel pulled away, and Buffy rose once again.


	9. Chapter 9

o-0-o Here's the new chapter. Reviews are always appreciated. o-0-o

Buffy looked around the room. Everyone was silent. Nobody moved.

The first person to speak was Dawn. "She got up, right? I'm not the only one seeing that?" she asked, with a trembling voice.

Willow stared at the now sitting Buffy, and nodded her head.

"Buffy," she whispered.

Buffy reached for her hand. "I'm here," she whispered.

Willow grabbed Buffy and hugged her hard, not hiding the tears that were now rushing down her cheeks.

Dawn flew across the room and grabbed her sister in a long hug as soon as Willow let go.

"Dawnie, don't cry. I'm here baby," Buffy said, stroking her sister's hair.

She was alive. She was really here, she could feel them, touch them.

Buffy's eyes met Angel's. He had never looked more relieved in his life. She reached grabbed his hand with her free one and squeezed tight.

They didn't need words right now. That would come later.

Everyone got their turn hugging Buffy, even the remaining Slayers. Well everyone except Illyria.

She gave Buffy a nod and said, "It is good that you are not dead."

Faith came to Buffy last. She looked conflicted. These girls had a rocky past. There was friendship once, then betrayal, then redemption. There was respect now, and Buffy hoped one day, maybe she could forget about all the bad things that went down between them, and just be back at friendship.

"The Chosen Two can hug, you know?" Buffy whispered to Faith, trying to lighten the mood, feeling extremely weak and tired at the moment.

Faith let out a laugh, and hugged Buffy.

Buffy was feeling like she needed to be very honest with everyone. She was back and she wasn't leaving things unsaid anymore.

"Respect for now. But one day, Faith." she told her. "One day."

Faith nodded her head, knowing exactly what Buffy meant, though the others didn't seem to have a clue.

"Welcome back," was her response.

Buffy tried to stand up, but winced in pain. "Oww."

"Oh shit!" Willow cursed.

Everyone looked at her, bewildered. Willow was not one to swear.

"She may be alive but she's still got the damn chest wound. How the hell didn't I notice the blood still running."

"Better question, how didn't I?" Buffy said. "Maybe that's why I have no energy."

Willow grabbed a towel and held it against Buffy's open wound.

"Okay," Willow mumbled.

"I'm tired Will," Buffy whispered.

"I know you are Buffy. Keep your eyes open for me though, okay? Let me heal that for you. Then, I promise you can sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Buffy replied, fighting the urge to close her eyes.

"I need to heal your wound before you sleep. If I don't you may not wake up. Do you understand?"

Buffy nodded.

Everyone was silent while Willow worked her magic. After about five minutes, Willow took Buffy's hand. "You can sleep now sweetie."

"Uh huh," Buffy mumbled, as she finally closed her eyes.

Everyone left the room, letting Buffy sleep in peace.

After a couple hours...

"I think I will leave," Illyria said randomly. "I will see more of this world. This is a sad place."

And with that, she was gone.

"That was weird," Xander said.

"I'll take the Slayers back to Rome, I'm just waiting for the plane to get here," Giles told Willow, Xander and Dawn.

"You know what, I might come too," Spike said.

Giles raised an eyebrow.

"What? I'm getting bored with L.A. And we already stopped the Apocalypse. I think it's time I start to do some more traveling," Spike said, simply.

"I think I'll go back with you, too, Giles. I've just got a couple things to do, first," Dawn said.

"You're more than welcome to stay here," Angel told her.

"Thanks, really. But I should go back. As much as I hate to say it, I've got school."

Angel laughed.

Dawn moved closer to Angel, so that only he could hear. "I'm leaving my sister here with you. You guys have way too many things that need to be said. And having any of us else here isn't going to help that happen... Willow and Xander are gonna head off, too. I already convinced them to go. They agree that you guys need some time alone... We'll probably be gone soon I'm pretty sure she'll still be sleeping, and I'm not going to wake her up. Just tell her that we'll take care of everything, and not to worry."

"Okay," he replied.

"Oh yeah, just in case I don't find him, which is what I'm going to try to do now, tell Conner thanks, for me. He was really nice," she told Angel.

"I can do that for you."

"Good. Thanks. I'll see you when I see you, Angel," Dawn said, giving him a quick hug.

"You be back here soon Dawn," Giles called after her.

"You're my sister's watcher, Giles, not mine," Dawn teased.

"Dawn-"

"Relax, Giles," Dawn laughed. "I'll be back."

"Wait up kid. I'm coming with you," Faith said.

Giles walked over to Angel. "I owe you an apology."

"Forget it, Giles. It doesn't matter," Angel answered.

"Yes it does. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions about you before. I should know by now that you're a good man."

"It's fine Giles."

"If it means anything to you, Buffy never believed you went bad. Not once."

"Thanks for saying that."

"Take care of her while she's here... Whatever you two decide, whatever happens, don't think about anyone else this time." And that's the last thing Giles said to him.

Xander and Willow approached Angel next.

"So, where are you two headed?" Angel asked.

"I'm taking Xander down to Peru with me. It's where I was before I came here," Willow said.

"We're taking an airplane this time. There's no way in hell you're flying me through the open air again," Xander told Willow. Then turning to Angel, he said, "Can you believe that she flew me from Africa?"

Angel just grinned.

Xander was about to speak, but Angel cut him off. "I know what you're gonna say. Don't worry. I will."

"You two are ridiculous, you know that?" Willow chuckled. "She doesn't need to be taken care of. She'd smack you both if she knew you were talking about that."

"Red's right, you know," Spike said, walking over to the group. "But take care of Buffy anyway."

"Alright, on account of the Slayer being asleep, I do this on her behalf," Willow said, smacking Spike upside the head.

"Hey," Spike complained.

"You boys be good," Willow laughed. "I'm just gonna go sit with Buffy for awhile."

Willow left the room and went to find her sleeping friend.

She sat on the chair next to Buffy, and just watched her for awhile.

"You're back Buffy. Please do whatever you need to do here. You tell him everything. Don't leave anything unsaid anymore. The next time I see you, I want you to be smiling. I want to see you happy."

Willow kissed Buffy's forehead, and just continued to watch her sleep


	10. Chapter 10

o-0-o Here's the new chapter. Enjoy! o-0-o

Everyone was gone. It was only Angel and the sleeping Buffy left in the empty hotel.

Angel had been sitting at her bedside, just watching her sleep. She looked peaceful. She looked calm. She seemed so content. She was just about the most beautiful thing Angel had ever seen.

He got up and grabbed a notebook and pencil from one of the cabinet drawers. He sat back down and began to draw her. It didn't take very long to finish the picture, which was a good thing, since Angel had just heard a knock at the door.

He put the picture on the chair where he was sitting, and left the room to answer the door.

It was Conner.

"Come in," he told his son.

"So everything turned out. Most of L.A. still stands. You're still alive. Buffy's still alive. It's good," Conner mumbled.

"Are you trying to say that you're glad to see me?" Angel asked, with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess so," Conner laughed. "Hey, is it true that you and Buffy killed a dragon?" he asked suddenly.

Angel just laughed. "Yeah we did."

"How'd you do it?' Conner asked.

"Like this," Angel said, grabbing Conner in a headlock.

"Yeah right," he laughed. "Come on."

"We chopped off its head," Angel answered.

"Cool," Conner exclaimed, as he reversed Angel's hold on him, twisting his arm behind his back.

"This is how you want to play it," Angel chuckled, amused. "You're not gonna beat me, kid. You're strong, but I'll win."

Angel and Conner fought away, not holding back, but not intentionally causing pain either.

They were pounding away at each other, literally throwing each other across the room.

Buffy's eyes suddenly opened. "What the hell is that noise?" she wondered.

It was a fight, clearly.

"Can't a girl just sleep for awhile? Is that too much to ask?" she mumbled as she got up, and grabbed a sword.

She threw the door open. "You know, I died not that long ago. I'm a little tired. Just wanted a little shut-eye. You couldn't hold off on your evil doing for another freakin' hour? Have a little consideration for the Slayer here. I guess I'll just have to kick your asses now," she snapped.

She ran across the room, and grabbed the smaller one by the neck, shoving him into the wall.

"Sorry we woke you up," Conner said, half way between choking and laughter.

"Conner. Oh my God. I'm sorry," Buffy said, immediately letting him go.

She turned around and saw Angel. He couldn't help but laugh.

She walked toward Angel and smacked him in the face.

"Sorry," Angel muttered.

"Uh huh," Buffy snorted.

Conner burst into laughter.

"Guess I don't need this," Buffy said, throwing the sword to the floor. She walked over to the sofa and plopped herself down. "By all means, boys, continue. Don't let little old me get in the way. Continue with the ass-kicking."

"Nah, I think the time has come and passed," Conner said. "I'd better get back home."

"You better not be leaving because of me. Because I can totally get out of here for awhile, if that's what you want," Buffy said, feeling guilty.

"I swear it's not you, Buffy. I really should get back. I just came by to see with my own eyes that you guys were alright."

Buffy nodded. "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?" Conner asked.

"For watching out for my sister. I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. It was just nice to be able to help you out."

"You're a good kid," Buffy said, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be seeing you, Conner. I'll let you two say goodbye," she said, as she left the room once more, going back into the bedroom.

She climbed back into the bed, she still felt so tired.

She noticed a piece of paper on the chair next to the bed and picked it up. It was a picture of her.

She knew Angel was the one who drew it. He had been watching her sleep.

Buffy ran the events of the last 12 hours through her mind, not wanting to forget anything. She had died. Again. It was weird, this was the third time.

She remembered what had happened. The first time she had died, her life flashed before her eyes so quickly, but so completely also. The first time was different from the second and third, however. The second time she died she saw everything in her life in the swiftest of memories, but also something that never happened. It must have been fantasy.

This last time she had perished, once again her whole life flashed before her eyes, and she saw the same thing that never happened, once more. Could she have had the same fantasy twice? Was that not extremely weird? And why was she seeing people that she had never seen before in her life in her fantasy as she was dying? It didn't make any sense.

"The saying goes. 'As you're about to die, you see your life flash before you eyes.' It doesn't say anything about fantasy or wishes."

Buffy closed her eyes hard, concentrating; trying to remember the conversation she had the two other-wordly beings while she was dead.

She knew she had seen them before. She saw them when she died. Yet they insisted that she saw no fantasy.

The past two times Buffy died she saw herself and Angel at his old Angel Investigations building. Now, this was not the weird part, because Buffy WAS there. What was weird was what came after that. In actuality, Buffy left Angel that day before anything major could really be said or done. In her vision, she was there longer than that. Angel was human and a lot more than talk happened between them.

It was after this that Buffy had saw the unknown man and woman. Buffy was sitting on Angel's bed, he had gone out to do something, and the duo stared down at her. They were pointing towards her stomach. It was weird. She had heard the woman say. "It will be there, soon."

"This will not happen," the male answered. "Why is that?" the woman questioned.

"He will take it all back," the male replied.

"I'm not crazy. I know I saw them," Buffy told herself.

"Saw who?" Angel asked, coming into the room, closing the door behind him.

"It doesn't matter. It was just a dream," Buffy replied, changing the subject. "Still watching me sleep, I see," Buffy grinned, showing Angel the picture.

"Old habits," he answered. "You always look most peaceful when you're sleeping. Your life isn't always so peaceful, that's why when you sleep, the art needs to be captured."

Buffy smiled at him.

"Seriously, sorry for barging in there before, I really thought something bad was going on," Buffy apologized.

"Don't worry about it," he answered.

"I take it my gang left me?" Buffy said.

"They said not to worry, that they'd take care of everything. They said we needed to-"

"Talk," Buffy said, finishing the sentence for him.

"Yeah," he said.

"It's just you and me now, so let's talk."


	11. Chapter 11

o-0-o Here's the last chapter. Hope you like it! Thanks very much to everyone who has reviewed o-0-o

"So, what have you been up to since I saw you last year?" Angel asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you've heard that we were in Rome. We've pretty much been there the whole time. Dawn's going to school there. I've been training the Slayers. There are so many of them. Some have got a natural talent, and some of them seem hopeless. Giles is pretty much the Watcher's Council. We've kind of got our own headquarters there. Xander and Willow spend a good chunk of the time with us, but they do quite a bit of traveling too.. Oh, thanks by the way, for getting our rogue slayer, Andrew said that he had a bit of difficulty but you guys helped him out a bit. I was going to come down too, but I- I wasn't ready to see you again, right then... Andrew did give you my message, though, right?"

"If you mean the message about you not trusting me anymore, yeah, I got that one loud and clear."

"Excuse me?" Buffy answered, shocked. "I never said that... I told him to tell you thanks for all the help and that I was sorry I couldn't make it to L.A myself, that I'd try to come down when I had some time."

"Little bastard," Angel muttered about Andrew.

"Angel?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Did he tell you that I was with the Immortal?"

"Yeah, he did."

"You came to Italy," she said.

"I did."

"You came into the club that night didn't you? I could feel it. I felt you there."

Angel was silent.

"I'm not with the Immortal, you know? I never actually was," Buffy told him.

"You're not? We did see you with him though, I'm sure we did."

"You did, but I was just trying to get information."

"Andrew must really hate my guts," Angel muttered.

"I'll be kicking his ass the next time I see him, not to worry," Buffy said. "When I told you I needed time to bake, last year, I meant it. I didn't go to Rome for a guy. I needed me-time. That's what I've been doing, me-stuff. And Slayer stuff. And just watching my sister grow up. No guy stuff. Unless you count Xander and Giles," Buffy said, sighing.

"Oh," Angel said. "Okay."

"You broke my heart, Angel," Buffy said, not bothering with the small talk anymore.

"The real conversation begins," he answered.

"Most of this has already been said, but I don't care, I need to let everything out... You are so much a part of me, it's like I could never really stop thinking about you. You're in my system. You take up such a big part of me that thinking of you used to make me crazy... When you left me, I felt like I was going to die. It was hard to even breathe... It was kind of pathetic really. I'm the Slayer. I face evil and beasts all the time, my life was always in constant jeopardy, but you leaving me- that was the _scariest_ thing in the world. Do you know that I've never actually been able to love any guy properly after you? I never loved Riley the way he should have been loved. He treated me like gold. And Spike, the guy really grew to love me. He was crazy about me. I used him. And I never loved him back. Not the way I loved you... I'm not supposed to admit this, but I needed you, Angel," Buffy said, closing her eyes, trying to stop tears that she knew were forming.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said, taking her hand. "I need you to know that I never wanted to leave you. The three worst moments of my life were when I left you," Angel did not know the importance of his last sentence yet. "But what the Mayor and your mother said made sense. I wasn't good for you. I brought you down... I want you to know that you were everything good in my life. You were my light. You're the reason that anything truly good can be said about me. You made me the man I am... You know, when I first got my soul back, I stopped doing the whole evil thing. I kept to myself, I didn't hurt any good people. I sometimes helped them out if I could. But it wasn't until the first day I saw you that I knew I would do good in this world. I saw you and you were so vulnerable at the time, all I thought was 'I'm going to help her.'"

Buffy squeezed his hand, finally opening her eyes.

"So I eventually met you, I helped you. And I fell for you. I was never as happy, ever in my life, as I was when I was with you. You made me feel like I was something other than evil, something that wasn't a monster. I need you to know that leaving was not easy for me. I thought it was gonna kill me."

Buffy kissed his hand, tears were slowly falling.

"Then I got shot with the arrow. And I remember thinking, 'If I make it through this, I'm not leaving Buffy, I don't care anymore.' You were what I wanted. But I was ready to go Buffy, I was ready to die. All I wanted was to see your face, and I could die happy... And you came and you told me I was gonna live. I felt like I was being rewarded... Then you said I needed your blood. I was so mad at you at that moment. It's like you were telling me it was okay to be a monster, telling me to kill you. I thought you didn't care about your life anymore. And I was disgusted with myself. What the hell had I done? I remember thinking that I must have screwed you up so bad. I wanted to die at the moment," Angel's hand was actually shaking in Buffy's.

"But then you had to go on and tell me that you needed me to live, that you weren't ready to lose me. 'Angel, drink,' you told me. And you hit me. All I was thinking about was how I was killing you on the inside... Your words were starting to make sense. 'Drink, Angel. I need you to live.' And the third time you hit me, I decided I was going to do it, I would drink, I would get better, and I would make everything alright for you."

Buffy was remembering every moment right there with him.

"You grabbed me. You pulled your shirt aside, and brought me down to your neck, hard. You flinched, and I felt it just as I drew your blood. I remember thinking. 'There's no way I'm letting her head touch that cold, hard, ground.' I held your head with my hand, and I just kept thinking, 'Don't let her head touch the ground. I won't let her hurt any extra.' After a few seconds you started to give in. And after a few seconds all that was running through my mind was blood and the fact that I was cradling your head in my hand... This is disgusting to say, but if we're saying everything, I won't lie to you...You were the best thing I had ever tasted. Your blood is a vampire's dream..."

Buffy was surprised that he was being so honest with her, but appreciated it. She wanted to know everything that he felt.

"Did it hurt? I tried so hard not to hurt you," he said in a small voice. "You kind of lose yourself- Please tell me it didn't hurt."

"It only hurt for a few seconds. I swear. I don't really know how to explain, but with the exception of those few seconds, I didn't feel pain."

"You were there with me, I could still feel you as I was drinking. But then I didn't feel you anymore. You weren't moving. And that brought me back... I pulled myself away from you and you were just lying there, not moving, and I saw the blood. I have never been more scared in my life. I thought I killed you. You were alive, barely, but you were still alive. I picked you up and I ran with you to the hospital... I put you on the gurney, and they hooked you up to a bunch of stuff... That's when I knew I was leaving. There was no way, I thought, that after what I'd just done, that I could do anything good for you, help you at all. I practically killed you."

"But you didn't. I knew you wouldn't," Buffy told him.

"But that was it for me. I was gone as soon as the whole Ascension fiasco would be over, I had to get out of there. I had to leave you... That was one the hardest things I've ever done."

"One of-" Things were starting to make sense to Buffy. "You said that the three worst moments

of your life were when you left me... You left me just before Prom, and you left me just after

Graduation. That's twice..." Buffy's heart was starting to beat extremely fast. "That's only twice," she repeated. "I saw them," she muttered to herself. "But they never actually said I didn't see them. All they said was 'You saw no fantasy.' "

"Buffy, what are you talking about?"

"You don't see dreams and fantasies when you die, you see your life. You only see things that actually happened to you, things that are real."

"That's what they say, yeah," Angel answered her.

"The guy said 'he will take it all back.' He was talking about you... You turned back time. You erased a day, Angel... You were human. That was the third time you left me, wasn't it?" Buffy said, finally understanding what she saw when she died.

"How do you know?" was Angel's reply.

"Apparently I've known for three years now," Buffy said, anger rising. "Why the hell did you do that?" she yelled.

"It's like you and me were the world's play things. When things looked great, someone decided to shake it up... That day was the best day of my life, Buffy. We were together in every sense of the word... But to make a long story short at the end of the day it pretty much came to turning back time, or you dying way before your time, and the world not being safe."

"...So it was one of those damn noble acts, then?" Buffy whispered. "And you've known this whole time, only you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

Buffy just nodded.

"Things would be a lot different if you didn't turn back time."

"I know."

"No, Angel, I mean A LOT different."

"How?"

"I guess you went out to get something... Anyway, I was sitting on your bed, and this man and woman were watching me from above, I guess. The woman was pointing at my stomach, and she said 'It will be there soon.'... If the day was never erased, we would have had a baby. Angel, you and me, would have a child," Buffy whispered, getting up.

She grabbed a sweater and started to walk out the door.

Angel couldn't believe what he just heard. He got up and held her arm. "You can't just say that to me and leave, Buffy... You need to look at me, okay? Please look at me."

"I need to go clear my head," she said with a shaky voice. "I need to go walk outside. I need some air."

"I'm coming with you," he said.

To his surprise, she didn't object.

"Okay," she mumbled.

They walked in silence for nearly half an hour, and were almost back at the hotel. The sun would probably be rising soon.

"Do you hate me right now?" Angel asked Buffy.

"No... I'm just feeling a little empty, like something precious was just taken away from me... Does that even make sense? It's not like we had the baby, right?"

"It didn't happen, but that doesn't mean that feeling empty doesn't make sense. Come on, you, me and a baby? That was a possibility; it would have happened if the day wasn't erased. I'm feeling a little empty myself, here. I used to dream about that, and I know you did too."

"I never really told you, but yeah, I did think about it," Buffy went quiet again.

They came to a bench, and Buffy decided to sit down. Angel did the same. After a couple minutes, Buffy moved closer to Angel, and put her head on his shoulder.

"I've really missed you. Not seeing you everyday these past years, has kinda sucked. I did a lot of trying to forget. But I'm not going to do that anymore. The past can stay in the past, if that's how you want it. Whatever the hell happens, I need you in my life, Buffy... I'm pretty sure you know how I feel from last year's conversation, but if you and me isn't what you want, I'll find some way to deal with that. I have no clue how I'll manage it, but I'll find a way. You have to promise me something though. We keep in touch. We see each other, and not just once a year. You let me know if you're okay, and you call me when you need help."

Buffy got up and started to walk. Her eyes started to water.

"Angel, only you can make me cry this much... And don't say sorry," she laughed through her tears. "What would you say if I told you that I think I'm done baking, if I said I was cookies?"

"I would say I'm glad, and then I'd ask you if you knew what you wanted?"

"I do know what I want. I think I've known it for a long time. But a girl needs to be sure, and I'm sure now."

"So what is it?"

Buffy took his face in her hands and kissed him gently on the lips before giving her answer.

"Even after all that's happened, it's the same thing I've wanted since I was sixteen. And that would be you, Angel."

"You're not kidding, right?" Angel asked, looking nervous, just waiting for Buffy to say it was all a joke.

Buffy just shook her head, and a smile spread across her face.

Thank God," he said, pulling her to him this time, and kissing her like it was the last thing he'd ever do.

Buffy could hardly breathe when the kiss was over.

"I told you I missed you," Angel laughed.

"Oh my God," Buffy said, shocked.

She walked ahead.

"What are you doing?" Angel asked, taking Buffy's hand.

"Come here," she said, pulling him closer to the hotel.

"Shanshu... Make him Human again... Would you consider that to be a gift?.. Life is your gift," she stammered.

"Angel, look up," Buffy said, barely containing her happiness.

The sun had risen. And Angel wasn't burning.

"Shanshu?" he said in wonder.

"I think so," Buffy said.

She grabbed him and pushed him into the nearest tree, hard, and kissed him like her life depended on it. This had to be some kind of kissing record.

"They made you human again, but you still have your vamp strength. I saw you and Conner, kicking each other's asses... I'm actually standing out here in the light with you... I can't believe this. I have to be dreaming, right? Cuz this is little too good to be true," Buffy said.

"I'm right there with you," he answered.

Buffy pulled him to her. She put her hand against him. "I can feel your heart beating," she said with happy tears.

"No more vampire... No more curse," Angel said. "I can be with you, actually be with you, now," Angel said quietly.

Buffy's eyes widened in realization.

Taking her reaction the wrong way, he began to apologize. "That was rude. I'm sorry. What right do I have to think that all of a sudden you're gonna hop into bed with me?"

"No more curse... You. Me. Inside. Now," Buffy squealed, dragging him into the hotel with her.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked, praying the answer would be yes.

"Don't try to be a gentleman right now. It's been years, Angel. Of course it's what I want... It's nice to know you still want me," she grinned.

"Well, if you insist," Angel laughed, picked her up, and shut the door behind them

Angel looked over at Buffy who was wearing a very satisfied look on her face.

"That was... I don't even know if there's a word to describe that," Buffy laughed.

"So you're happy?" he asked her.

"Let's see. I'm lying here with you. You're not evil. And I know that this day actually happened... Yeah, I'd say I'm happy... You?"

"Perfectly."

Buffy paused for a minute, and then bit her lip. "I don't want to spoil this, but if you leave me again, I won't forgive you this time... No more keeping secrets from me. If you can promise me that won't happen, then I promise you, you've got all of me till the day I die."

"I promise. I swear."

"I believe you," she whispered. "Now that everything's been said and _done_, I think it's time for some sleep... Just lie here with me for awhile, before we start thinking about the parts of our lives that aren't you and me."

"That sounds like a very workable plan to me," Angel said, pulling her closer.

"I want my ring back by the way," she said softly.

"Ring?"

"My Claddagh ring. I know you have both of them, and I want mine back," she said, looking at him.

"Friendship, loyalty, love, and devotion," he said.

"Always," she whispered. "Always."


End file.
